Cotton fiber blender



Feb. 14, 1956 w. .1. MARTIN ET AL 2,734,230

COTTON FIBER BLENDER Filed July 30, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORfi W.J. MARTIN J. E. LARRISON ATTORNEYS Feb. 14, 1956 w -rm ET AL COTTON FIBER BLENDER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Filed July 30, 1952 INVENTOR5 W.d. MARTIN J. E. LARRISON BY a ATTCENEYS Feb. 14, 1956 w. J. MARTIN ET AL 2,734,230

COTTON FIBER BLENDER Filed July so, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet a INVENTORS W.J. MARTIN J.E. LARRISON ATTORNEYS COTTON FIBER BLENDER William J. Martin, Arlington, Va, and John E. Larrison, Leland, Miss.

A non-exclusive. irrevocable, royalty-free license in the invention herein described, for all governmental purposes, throughout the world, with the power to grant sublicenses for such purposes, is hereby granted to the Government of the United States of America.

The invention herein described is hereby dedicated to the free use of the people in the territory of the United States.

This invention relates to a cotton fiber blender and has among its objects the provision of such a blender for producing a homogeneous mixture or blend of lint cotton of short or long staple length, such blend being particularly useful as a laboratory specimen for the testing of the physical properties of its fibers.

In general, the fiber blender provides a frame and a rotatable blending cylinder mounted on the frame and carrying spines on its periphery for collecting and holding fibers thereon. A feed mechanism for feeding fibers onto the spines of the cylinder at a constant rate is positioned adjacent to the cylinder, this feed mechanism being pivotally supported on the frame, being adjustable vertically with respect to the cylinder, and including a rotatable feed roll, a feed plate held against the feed roll by spring pressure, and a feed plate extension hinged to the bottom of the feed plate. The blender further provides a pin mounted on each side of the feed plate extension and a cam-shaped plate, having cam steps on its periphery, which is pivotally mounted on each side of the feed mechanism and is arranged for slidable engagement with the said pins, respectively, so that when the feed plate extension is swung on its hinge from one position to another the cam plates will be correspondingly shifted. Height-adjustable posts mounted on the frame are included for engaging the cam steps to support the feed mechanism so that when the feed plate extension is swung, the cam steps will engage the posts to correspondingly raise or lower the feed mechanism, tension means mounted on the feed mechanism for restraining movement of the feed plate extension and for retaining the feed plate extension in its position being also vprovided. Means for rotationg the cylinder at such a rate of speed relative to the feed mechanism that the fibers are collected and held in layers on the spines of the cylinder in a more uniform blend than that of the fibers fed thereto are also included in the blender.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a tri-dimensional view of the fiber blender shown in-outline;

Figure 2 is a view along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view along the line 33 of Figure 1;

Fig'u're 4 is a view on line i 4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a section on line 5--5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the blender With parts removed to show internal structure; and

Figure 7 is also a side elevation corresponding to Fig ure 6 but illustrating the other side of the blender.

The blender provides a rotatable blending cylinder 12 covered with stripper fillet clothing having wire spines States Patent 13 with forwardly-inclined tips on its periphery for collecting and holding fibers thereon in layers as they are fed thereto. The cylinder 12 preferably has an overall diameter of about 12 inches and in about 5 inches wide across its face. The cylinder is axially mounted on a rotatable shaft 14 one end of which terminates in side E5. The other end of shaft 14 terminates in side 16 and is associated with a drive mechanism for activating the shaft thereby causing the cylinder to rotate, as will be explained later. The shaft has an enlarged portion 17. having threaded ends, which is fixed to the cylinder by means of plates 18 and 19 and nuts 20 and 21.

The blender provides also a feed mechanism for feeding cotton fibers of short staple length, that is, of a length not exceeding 1 inch, and of long staple length, that is, of a length exceeding 1 inch, to the blending cylinder 12.

T he feed mechanism is deposed adjacent to the cylinder and includes a fluted feed roll 25 held against acurved feed plate 26 by springs 27 and 28. As extension 29, hinged to the bottom of feed plate 26, is also included, the function and purpose of which will be explained hereinafter. The feed mechanism is mounted between arms 30 and 31 which in turn are pivotally. mounted on a rotatable shaft 34, one end of which terminates in.

The drive mechanism for activating both the feed roll 25 and the blending cylinder 12 to rotate is mounted on side 16 and includes an arrangement of chains, belts, pulleys, and sprockets for simultaneously rotating the feed roll (by suitable association with shaft 34) and the blending cylinder (by suitable association with shaft 14) at a constant rate relative to each other but at different speeds.

being driven at a preferred low speed of 6 R. P. M.

The drive mechanism operates to rotate the feed roll and blending cylinder in opposite directions through a motor output shaft 40 rotatably mounted on and near 7 the rear end of side 16, this shaft carrying a V-belt pulley 4i and a sprocket 42. The V-belt 43 drives the blending cylinder through a V-belt pulley 44 and a spring-loaded slip clutch 45 mounted on cylinder shaft 14. The slip clutch is included in the drive system because the motor to which powers the drive mechanism, has a reduction gear. system and the mechanism cannot be hand-rotated. The,

clutch also provides a certain amount of resistance to turning the blending cylinder by hand which is a desirable feature when the cylinder is being stripped or cleaned of cotton. A handwheel 47 is also provided for rotating the cylinder by hand in either direction during.

the stripping of the blended cotton from the cylinder.

The sprocket 42 on the motor output shaft drives a jack shaft 48 through a roller chain 49, these elements also being mounted on side 16 horizontally forward of the motor output shaft 40. The jack shaft, in turn, drives shaft 34 associated with the feed mechanism. A sprocket (not shownlmounted on shaft 34, as this shaft extends from the outside of arm 30, drives a sprocket 50 mounted on the shaft 51 of feed roll 25 thereby causing the feed roll to rotate.

The drive mechanism is powered by electric motor 46 with a builtin speed reducer, which is mounted on base 52 in the rear of the cylinder 12 and which can be controlled by a suitabie switch 53 to operate so that the blending cylinder can be run forward to collect cotton fibers or backward for stripping the cylinder of fibers.

The feed plate 26 is pivotally mounted on.

A preferred surface speed ratio of the feed, roll to the cylinder is approximately 1 to 135, the feed roll This reversal of operation is desirable when the cylinder is to be cleaned.

The distance between the point where the feed mechanism releases a fiber and the point of contact of the fiber with the blending cylinder should be long enough so that no fibers are broken. At the same time, it should be as short as possible so that tufts and large groups of fibers will be opened, disentangled, and distributed around the periphery of the blending cylinder. It was found that only two settings of the blender were required, one for short staple cotton and the other for long staple cotton.

The space between the face of the feed plate and the blending cylinder, which is preferably approximately Vs inch, has to be rather small in order to guide the fibers on the spines of the blending cylinder. When the setting of the blender is changed from short staple to long staple operation the feed mechanism is raised approximately inch. If the feed plate 26, as used for short staple cotton, were not altered in any way after this change, there would be a space of approximately /2 inch between the feed plate and blending cylinder instead of the desired A; inch. To fill this gap, the feed-plate extension 29 is hinged to the feed plate in such a manner that it can be swung under the feed plate and held in position by a spring 55 thereby closing this space to the desired approximate /a inch. Changing the position of the feed plate extension in this manner for processing long staple cotton increases the radius of the nose of the feed plate thereby providing a longer path of travel for the fiber.

The feed mechanism is supported in operative position by two similarly mounted posts. Thus, post 60, which is adjustable in height, has its lower end attached to lug 61 fixed to side 15. A cam-shaped plate 62, pivotally mounted on axle 63 which, in turn, is mounted between arms 30 and 31, and the feed-plate extension 29 are linked together by a pin 64 so arranged as to slidingly engage a slot 65 in the plate. The plate 62 has cam steps on its periphery for engaging post 60 to support the feed mechanism so that when the feed plate extension is swung on its hinge, the cam steps will engage the posts to correspondingly raise or lower the feed mechanism. Thus,

in changing the setting from short staple operation to long staple operation the feed plate extension is merely grasped with the hand and swung under the feed plate. This one action shifts the cam-shaped plates so that the blender is immediately set for the different staple length being held in the position by tension means, such as spring 55. To change the blender from the long staple setting to the short staple setting, the procedure is merely reversed. Figure 2 shows one of the posts supporting the underside of one of the cam-shaped plates in position for short staple operation while Figure 3 shows post 60 supporting plate 62 in position for long staple operation. The height-adjustment of post 60 is effected by means of a compression spring 67, surrounding an unthreaded portion of the lower end of the post, and a nut 68 which engages the lower threaded end of the post.

In operating the blender using sort staple cotton fibers, the feed plate extension is swung away from the face or underside surface of the feed plate (as shown in Figure 2) thereby automatically adjusting the device for short staple operation. The drive mechanism is put into operation, and the fibers fed into the feed roll. At the controlled and constant rates of speed of the feed roll and blending cylinder relative to each other, the fibers are collected and held in the spines in a more homogeneous blend than when fed thereto. Correspondingly, when long staple fibers are blended, the blender is prepared for long staple operation by adjustment of the feed-plate extension and cam-shaped plate 62 (as previously described ancl illustrated in Figure 3) to obtain the ap proximate Vs inch between the feed roll and blending cylinder. The blend recovered is similar to homogeneity of fibers to the one obtained with short staple cotton.

When all the cotton has been deposited on the blending cylinder, the machine is stopped and the feed mechanism is swung out of the way in preparation for stripping the cylinder by pivoting arms 30 and 31.. The cylinder is then rotated by handwheel 47 until a transverse slot 70 (see Figure 5) present in the wire spines 13 of the clothing of the cylinder is brought into view. The blend (or bat) of cotton formed on the blending cylinder is now severed by inserting a small rod or tool, such as a letter opener, through slot 70 and lifting the tool until it breaks through the cotton blend. The blend is subsequently removed by rotating the cylinder in a backward direction with the handwheel 47 and rolling the blend off by hand, This blend may thereafter be fed back into the blender for a second and third time and thereafter, when finally removed, represents a good test specimen for laboratory tests of the fibers.

We claim:

A fiber blender comprising a frame, a rotatable blending cylinder mounted on said frame and carrying spines on its periphery for collecting and holding fibers thereon, a feed mechanism adjacent to the cylinder for feeding fibers onto the said spines of the cylinder at a constant rate, said feed mechanism being pivotally supported on the frame and being adjustable vertically with respect to the cylinder, said feed mechanism comprising a rotatable feed roll, a feed plate held against the said roll by spring pressure, a feed plate extension hinged to the bottom of the said feed plate, a pin mounted on each side of the feed plate extension, a cam-shaped plate having cam steps on its periphery, being pivotally mounted on each side of the feed mechanism, and arranged for slidable engagement with the said pins respectively so that when the feed plate extension is swung on its hinge from one position to another the cam plates will be correspondingly shifted, height-adjustable posts mounted on the frame for engaging said cam steps to support the feed mechanism so that when the feed plate extension is swung the cam steps will engage the posts to correspondingly raise or lower the feed mechanism, tension means mounted on the feed mechanism for restraining movement of the feed plate extension and for retaining the said feed plate extension in its position, and means for rotating the cylinder at such a rate of speed relative to the feed mechanism that the fibers are collected and held in layers on the said spines of the cylinder in a more uniform blend than that of the fibers fed thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 485,272 Groom Nov. 1, 1892 566,372 Borios Aug. 25, 1896 1,043,909 Doller Nov. 12, 1912 1,363,420 Iohansen Dec. 28 1920 1,705,433 Wild et a1. Mar. 12, 1929 1,773,055 McDougall Aug. 12, 1930 2,128,130 Farrar Aug. 23, 1938 2,646,597 Townsend July 28, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,733 Great Britain Of 1838 

